Microdiversity of human‐plasma‐membrane calcium‐pump isoform 2 generated by alternative RNA splicing in the N‐terminal coding region

cDNA species covering the entire coding sequence of the human homologue of the rat plasma membrane Ca²⁺‐ATPase (PMCA) isoform 2 have been isolated and characterized. The deduced amino acid sequence shows 99% identity with that of the rat protein and can be aligned with the latter without gaps except for one 14‐amino‐acid‐residue insert in the region immediately preceding the putative phospholipid‐sensitive domain in the human pump. cDNA clones isolated by anchored polymerase‐chain reaction revealed additional microheterogeneity in the same N‐terminal PMCA2‐coding region. Alternative RNA splicing involving a region of 135 nucleotides generates three types of cDNA. One does not contain any of the 135 bp, and the other two contain 42 bp or the entire 135 bp of the optional sequence. Analysis of genomic DNA indicates that this sequence is encoded by three separate exons of 33, 60 and 42 bp. Although each of these exons could be inserted into the mRNA without changing the reading frame, polymerase‐chain amplifications using cDNA libraries from several human tissues show that the 33‐bp and the 60‐bp exons are never independently used during splicing. The unequal distribution of the splice variants suggests tissue‐specific regulation of the alternative‐splicing pathways and indicates a functional specialization of the encoded isoform subtypes.